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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Royal Commission
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A body set up by the monarch, on the recommendation of the prime minister, to investigate a specific subject. Some are long-term ongoing activities: the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, for example, was established in 1869 to report on surviving papers of historical importance and it continues to do so; and the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 still dispenses, for educational purposes, the income from the profits of the *Great Exhibition.
But most royal commissions are like any other major report instigated by government, except that they are given added resonance by the royal link. Such enquiries were virtually discontinued during the 1980s, until revived in 1991 with the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice chaired by Lord Runciman.
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